Media cooperation forum on Belt and Road project kicks off

DUNHUANG, China (Pajhwok): A center to strengthen cooperation among domestic and international media on China’s Belt and Road initiative would be established by the People’s Daily, announced the newspaper’s president on Tuesday.

Yang Zhenwu, president of the People’s Daily, made the announcement at the launch of the 2017 Media Cooperation Forum kicked off in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu province on Tuesday (Sept. 19).

The event is attended by over 300 media outlets from 127 countries and international organizations, making it the largest and most influential gathering of media outlets ever hosted by China’s mainstream media.

The People’s Daily will take six specific actions to promote media cooperation, Yang pledged, elaborating that the efforts will include releasing a blue paper on Belt and Road media cooperation, launching an international research center, starting a Belt and Road media cooperation center and a Belt and Road joint interview mechanism.

Establishing a cooperation union for Belt and Road regional cooperation, setting up a culture research institute, and publishing the English version of the book series Ode to Silk Road were part of the program.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, opening up more opportunities for co-construction and co-sharing, as well as mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, Yang said.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in May has promoted collaborations featuring a wider scope, a greater variety of fields, and a higher standard among participating countries, Yang added.

The Belt and Road Initiative has created a new concept for global governance, broadened room for international cooperation, and set a model in which different civilizations could learn from each other.

“The building of the Initiative is set to be prosperous,” Yang noted.

Conforming to this trend, the People’s Daily hosted the first Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road in 2014 in a sincere bid to formulate an information expressway, tear down emotional barriers.